


The Rain is Gone

by isabeau25



Series: The Five Lions Cafe [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Ever - Freeform, Gen, Still no romance, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-26
Updated: 2017-09-26
Packaged: 2019-01-05 16:23:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12193449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isabeau25/pseuds/isabeau25
Summary: Keith has a bad night, but it ends well.





	The Rain is Gone

It had rained most of the afternoon and into evening, and Shiro had fallen asleep to the sound. The second floor of the still unnamed café was set up as a living space, and Shiro had moved there from his apartment within weeks of buying the property.

Like everything else, it was a little rough, but he liked it. With the attic space above him, the rain on the roof was just muffled enough to be pleasant, and he had washed all his blankets and comforters earlier in the day. Everything smelt clean and fresh, and he had burrowed himself under the extra fluff of his comforter and let the rain lull him to sleep with no worries.

His phone woke him at 1am, and he tried to reach for it blurrily with his right arm, which didn’t work well without his prosthetic. He had to wiggle to free his left hand from the sheets it was tangled in underneath him, and by the time he got the phone, he expected that he had missed the call.

“Hello?” he slurred sleepily.

There was an audible sigh of relief on the line.

“Shiro, it’s Keith.”

Shiro was suddenly much more awake. It had been close to four months since he had heard from Keith. He didn’t have a cell phone, and as Shiro’s councilor had reminded him more than once, Keith was an adult; Shiro couldn’t force him to accept help no matter how much he needed it, and he probably shouldn’t try.

“It’s good to hear from you,” Shiro kicked at his blankets until he was untangled enough to sit up.

“I…” Keith’s breath was shaky, and Shiro could hear the heavy rain over the line; it sounded like he was outside, “I know I said that last time was it, and I wouldn’t do this again, but can I sleep at your place?”

Shiro took a breath to tell him, yes, always, and also that he had moved, but he didn’t get the chance.

“I promise this will be the last time,” Keith pushed forward in a rush, “I just need someplace to stay tonight. I won’t do it again, just please? I can sleep on the floor or anywhere. It won’t happen again. I promise it won’t.”

“Keith, it can happen as many times as it needs to,” Shiro tucked the phone against his ear so he could flip the bedside light on, and Kona blinked at him from the foot of the bed, “I don’t mind you staying with me for as long as you need to. I just want you to have someplace safe to be.”

“I… I don’t want to…” Keith struggled to find what he wanted to say through chattering teeth, then seemed to give up, “I’ll be over soon.”

“I moved,” Shiro told him, “I’ll come get you.”

“You moved?” Keith sounded almost panicked, “I can’t… there are no buses this time of night.”

“I know,” Shiro swung his feet over the edge of the bed, “I’ll come get you. Where are you?”

“No, you shouldn’t have to,” Keith protested, “I’ll figure something out. What’s your new address?”

“Keith, it’s pouring rain, and it’s one o’clock in the morning,” Shiro was glad Keith couldn’t see him roll his eyes, “where are you?”

There was quiet over the line, filled with the sound of rain on both ends and Keith’s sniffles. Knowing Keith, he wasn’t crying, he was cold.

“I’m at the bus stop at the end of Jarre Avenue,” Keith finally told him, “well, at the pay phone across the street from it, anyway.”

Which meant Keith was still six miles from Shiro’s old apartment and had probably planned to try to walk to it. In the rain. At one o’clock in the morning. And everyone wondered why he worried about Keith so much.

“It will take me about half an hour to get there,” Shiro stood up, “try and find some place dry to wait, and I’ll see you soon.”

“Thanks Shiro,” Keith mumbled into the line.

“Anytime,” Shiro said seriously, “I mean it. I always want you to call me if you need help.”

“Okay,” Keith suddenly sounded so young over the line, “I’ll see you soon.”

* * *

Shiro spotted Keith huddled under the meager cover of the bus stop, duffle bag slung over his shoulder and soggy cardboard box at his feet. He looked up tiredly when Shiro pulled his car up to the curb. His clothes were soaked and frayed at the hems and the sole of one of his shoes was coming off. He looked like a hobo, and despite Shiro’s best efforts to the contrary, he kind of was.

That didn’t make Shiro want to help him any less.

Keith grabbed his box and hurried towards the car before Shiro could get out. Shiro had to reach across the front seat to push the door open for him, and Keith tossed his duffle in the back seat, then set the box carefully on the footboard of the front before climbing in.

“Here, bundle up,” Shiro reached into the back and pulled out the blankets he had tossed there, “your lips are turning blue.”

Keith mumbled a thank you and promptly disappeared under the blankets as if he was trying to hide from Shiro.

Shiro pulled away from the curb and let the quiet settle over them. Even before everything had gone wrong, Keith had always needed time and space to process situations that involved people and find the right words to fit what was in his head and what he wanted other people to know.

“I’m sorry,” a sniffle punctuated the apology, and Keith somehow managed to make himself even smaller, “I really tried! But everything just kept going wrong, and I wouldn’t pretend like I hadn’t seen the manager stealing so he fired me, and then I couldn’t pay my rent and got evicted, and I had enough for a motel last night, but not tonight, and I thought I’d be okay, but the rain just wouldn’t stop, and I didn’t want to bother you again, but I didn’t know what to do, and I’m sorry! I’ll do better.”

Keith’s whole body was trembling by the time he finished, his breath coming in uneven hitches.

“It’s not fair!” he gasped, anger flowing in to replace the things that were too hard for him to sort and name, “Shiro, it’s not fair! I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Shiro missed his arm. He missed it for a lot of reasons, but right now he missed it because the best he could manage with his prosthetic while still driving was an awkward pat on Keith’s back. He left the weight resting there for a moment, and even though he knew Keith was shaking, he couldn’t feel it.

“I know,” Shiro said steadily.

For a moment Keith was still, then all the fight seemed to drain out of him, and he slumped against the car door.

“Did you get all your stuff from your apartment?” Shiro asked, “we can go back and get anything you left behind.”

“No,” Keith shook his head, or at least, Shiro assumed he shook his head from the way the pile of blankets moved, “I got everything important, and there wasn’t much I left except some furniture. It’s probably already been pawned.”

Shiro focused on driving and did his best to reign in his sudden flare of temper, to clamp down on his desire to tell Keith that he should have called him sooner. Much sooner. They had talked about this. Shiro felt like they had talked about it over and over again, but Keith still refused to reach out to him for help until everything had fallen apart completely.

“Where did you move?” Keith shifted restlessly, face still hidden under the folds of the blankets.

“Oh,” Shiro brightened immediately, “I bought a restaurant, and it has a great living space above it.”

“You did what?” Keith finally pulled the blankets away from his face, staring at Shiro as if he was trying to gauge if he was serious.

“Well, it was a restaurant, but I’m going to turn it into a café,” Shiro ignored the way Keith was looking at him like he had gone crazy, “it’s really an amazing property.”

“Shiro, you can’t cook,” Keith said bluntly, “you caught microwave mac and cheese on fire once.”

“Yeah, I’ll have to hire someone,” Shiro shrugged, “but I have to hire people anyway.”

Shiro paused for a moment, eyeing Keith thoughtful out of the corner of his eye.

“Actually, I’m glad you called,” Shiro said cheerfully, “I could really use your help.”

“With what?” Keith narrowed his eyes suspiciously, then backtracked, “I mean I’ll help you with anything you need, but what is it?”

“The property needs a lot of work. The building needs to be renovated, and the gardens need to be cleaned up, and there’s a never ending pile of yard work, which I’m a lot slower at then I used to be,” he flexed the fingers on his prosthetic to emphasis his point, “I could really use your help getting everything cleaned up and ready to go.”

“I don’t…” Keith’s brow furrowed.

This felt an awful lot like charity. Make up a job for the trouble making homeless kid to placate him so he wouldn’t complain about not wanting handouts.

“I’ll give you room and board in exchange,” Shiro continued as if he hadn’t noticed Keith’s suspicious look, “money is a little bit tight while we get things going, but I could at least do that. It’s not really a fair exchange for you, but you would be doing me a huge favor. The less I have to pay professionals to do things that don’t really require a professional, the more money I can put towards improving the building and grounds.”

Well, it couldn’t have been worse than the last five jobs Keith had had, and he knew he would like working with Shiro. That didn’t stop the offer from feeling like pity though.

“I’ll think about it,” Keith could at least agree to that.

“Good,” Shiro grinned at him, “once you see the place, you’ll want to stay.”

Keith stared at the profile of Shiro’s face in the dim light of the car and wondered what it was about this place that made Shiro so happy.

* * *

“Go jump in the shower and get warmed up,” Shiro tugged at Keith’s duffle until he let go of it, slinging it over his own shoulder, “I’ll get you some dry clothes.”

Keith looked uncertainly around the living room. There were still boxes stacked against the wall, and the furniture was sparse. He remembered the well-worn couch from Shiro’s other apartment, but the makeshift coffee table made from what seemed to be a round table top propped on boxes was new. There wasn’t a tv, but Shiro had set up his stereo.

“Hey,” Shiro nudged his shoulder, holding out his hands for the box as well, “it’s okay.”

“I…” Keith was shivering under his blankets, and a shower sounded amazing, but he still felt like he was imposing.

A grey cat trotted into the room, tail high and ears perked curiously.

“You got a cat?” Keith blinked.

He knew Shiro liked animals, but last time he had talked about them, it had mostly been to lament that he didn’t feel like he was in any condition to take good care of one.

“Sort of,” Shiro grinned, “the property came with two. That’s Cappuccino, and Kona is probably still sleeping on my bed.”

The cat rubbed against Keith’s legs, weaving between them and purring loudly. Keith reached down to scratch her ears, and she pushed up into his hand.

“You named them after coffee,” Keith gave Shiro an amused look.

“Yeah,” Shiro shrugged, “well, Allura named Cappuccino. She said she was bubbly.”

“Allura?” Keith frowned, wondering if there was someone else living here, and it wasn’t just Shiro he was intruding on.

“You probably never met Allura,” Shiro set Keith’s box down on top of a stack of boxes, “we went to school together, and she’s helping with the budget and book keeping for the café. She’ll be over tomorrow afternoon, and I can introduce you.”

“Okay,” Keith didn’t really want to meet anyone, but he didn’t want to be rude when Shiro was helping him so much.

“Now, go take a shower,” Shiro gave him a push towards the bathroom, “I’m going to unpack your stuff so it can dry out, okay?”

“Yeah,” Keith sighed, too tired to keep protesting Shiro doing too much for him, “thanks.”

* * *

The t-shirt and sweats Shiro had given him were huge, but at least they were warm. By the time he got out of the shower, there were blankets and pillows piled on the couch for him, and Shiro had tossed most of his clothes in the washing.

There was also a black cat curled up sleeping on top of the pile of blankets. She opened a blue eye lazily when Keith walked by, then went back to sleep.

“I’ll be right there,” Shiro called from the kitchen.

Keith sat cautiously on the couch, giving the black cat a wide berth in case she wasn’t as friendly as Cappuccino.

“You must be Kona,” Keith carefully tugged at a blanket on the bottom of the pile, trying to get it free without bothering the cat.

The cat yawned and stretched, tail flicking, but she didn’t seem upset, so Keith kept pulling, managing to get the blanket out from under her without toppling her. Keith wrapped it around his shoulders and resisted the urge to hide under it. He wasn’t a little kid; he didn’t need to hide under the covers like one. Just sometimes… sometimes he wished he could, and it would actually make things better.

He curled himself in the corner of the couch, tucking his bare feet under Kona’s stack of blankets. Cappuccino sauntered up, meowing loudly before jumping up into his lap. She rubbed against his chest and tried to push her way into his blanket cocoon. Keith stuck a hand out to scratch her back, making her arch up happily.

“Cino, leave him alone,” Shiro came back into the living room holding two steaming mugs.

The cat chattered at him and continued to try to pry her way under Keith’s arm.

“It’s okay,” Keith laughed, “she’s just being friendly.”

“She’s really good at that,” Shiro offered Keith one of the mugs, “also good at knocking things off shelves.”

As soon as Keith had the mug, Cappuccino lost interest in trying to invade his blanket cocoon and tried to sniff the mug, pawing at Keith’s hand when he held it out of her reach.

“Get down, Cino,” Shiro sat on the other end of the couch, Kona and her blanket pile between them, putting his mug down so he could drag the grey cat away from Keith, “he doesn’t want to drink your fur.”

The grey cat seemed very offended by this and jumped off the couch, disappearing through a doorway.

Freed from his fluffy assailant, Keith took a sniff of his mug. It smelt good at least, warm and spicy, “what is it?”

“Tea,” Shiro grinned, reaching for his own mug; he immediately had to hold it out of the way as Kona climbed onto his lap, “Rooibos Chai. Not as good as regular Chai, but it’s naturally caffeine-free and better than decaffeinated Chai.”

“I see you’ve found something new to be nerdy about,” Keith took a sip; it tasted pretty good, but what he cared about most was that it was warm, which meant it was perfect, “caffeine-free and decaffeinated are the same thing.”

“Not even close,” Shiro laughed, “I’ve been reading and researching non-stop since I bought the place. I know it’s shocking, but I actually don’t know anything about coffee or tea, or running a café.”

“I would be shocked,” Keith took another sip of his tea, sniffling when the heat made his nose run, “but you burnt water once.”

“Technically, the water evaporated,” Shiro gave him an amused look over the rim of his mug, “then the pot burnt.”

“I can’t believe you bought a restaurant,” Keith laughed, and it felt good.

“Just wait until you see it in the daylight,” Shiro dropped his hand down to stroke Kona’s back, “it really is beautiful. It’s got good bones; it just needs a lot of work.”

Keith nodded, thinking again about Shiro’s offer. He hadn’t been able to see much as they had dashed through the rain to the door, and the downstairs had been little more than water shadows and broken silhouettes, but up here it was cozy. Like a bubble that kept out the lurking darkness. He already liked it here, and it would be a good deal for him to stay, but he didn’t know if it would be as good for Shiro.

Keith wasn’t exactly a people person. He didn’t mean to be rude or abrasive, but he always seemed to say or do the wrong thing. People just didn’t like him, no matter how hard he tried. So, he had stopped trying. Shiro needed someone who customers would like, which meant he wasn’t what Shiro needed at all.

He would just help Shiro with some of the heavy lifting to pay him back for letting him stay the night, then be on his way. He would manage, he always did.

“Hey,” Shiro leaned forward to shake Keith’s knee, dislodging Kona, who jumped to the floor, “whatever you’re thinking, stop. It’s no good trying to figure out anything when you’re this tired.”

“Yeah,” Keith let out a slow breath, then breathed in the smell of the tea again; it was soothing, “I’m keeping you up. You should get to bed.”

“So should you,” Shiro stood, stretching, “it’s been a long night.”

Keith could only nod. It had been a long couple years, really.

“If you get hungry, help yourself to anything in the kitchen,” Shiro leaned down to ruffle his hair, “and sleep well.”

“Thanks Shiro,” Keith smiled up at him.

Shiro paused at the door to his bedroom and looked back, “it’s good to see you again, Keith. I really am glad you called.”

Keith nodded, hands wrapped tight around his mug. The idea that someone was happy to see him made something warm bloom in his chest. It had been a long time since anyone had said that to him and meant it, and Shiro always meant it.

“Goodnight, Keith,” Shiro smiled.

“Goodnight,” Keith watched from under the fringe of his hair as Shiro disappeared into his room, leaving the door cracked for the cats.

Kona trotted in after him, and after a few minutes, Cappuccino reappeared, as if she had been waiting for the coast to clear. She jumped back into Keith’s lap, curling in a ball and kneading happily at the pile of blankets, as if she was claiming them as her own now that Kona wasn’t on them anymore.

Keith dropped a hand down to scratch her ears, liking the way her purr reverberated through him. It felt like nothing could be that wrong if the cat was this happy. Now that he was warm and safe, the steady rainfall seemed almost lazy against the windows, a quiet blanket over the building, cocooning it just as gently as the one wrapped around Keith.

Keith quietly finished his tea, one hand dug into Cappuccino’s fur, his toes still dug under the pile of blankets. He knew he shouldn’t stay for longer than tonight, but at least he would get a good night’s sleep.

* * *

Keith blinked his eyes open, not quite sure where he was. Usually that worried him, but he just felt comfortable and warm. There was light trickling through the curtains, making bright stripes on the far wall and everything was blissfully quiet.

Until Cappuccino yawned hugely and stretched, pushing her paws into his face.

“Your breath stinks,” Keith told her sleepily.

He sat up, managing not to dislodge Cappuccino, who had been sleeping in the curve of his body. There was a note on the coffee table, folded to stand upright and with his name on it.

_Ran to the store. Coffee is ready to brew in the kitchen. Just hit the red button (don’t change the settings – trust me, I’m a professional). Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. ~S_

Shiro’s handwriting was getting better. For a while he had been so tired of having to learn to do new things with his left hand, that he had stopped trying to write with it. He had compensated by getting fast at texting one handed. The note was still kind of messy, but it was a major improvement from the last time Keith had seen his writing. He must have been practicing again.

Cappuccino gave him a very disgruntled look when he pulled one of the blankets out from under her to wrap around himself, but he was leaving her with two more blankets, two pillows, and the whole couch, so he didn’t see what she had to complain about.

The kitchen was small, but cozy, and the open window over the sink gave Keith a good view of the tree tops and the mid-morning sky. There was a mug and a bag of turbinado sugar with a spoon set next to the coffee maker and another note that said _this is better than the stuff you use._

Keith snorted and turned the brewer on. Apparently buying a restaurant had turned Shiro into a coffee snob. That was probably for the best if he intended to run a café.

Keith went to open the fridge and nearly had a heart attack when he looked up to find two blue eyes staring down at him. Kono was sitting on top of the fridge, watching him curiously. She was sitting on a rather plush looking cat bed, so this must have been normal.

“Shiro is going to turn into a crazy cat lady if he keeps this up,” Keith grumbled and pulled open the fridge.

There was something reassuring about the stacks of take-out boxes and single jar of half eaten jam. This was what Shiro’s fridge had always looked like. Keith grabbed a yogurt cup and closed the door, giving a little wave to Kona, who was watching him as if to make sure he didn’t try anything funny.

He put half a spoonful of sugar into the mug, then boosted himself up on the counter to eat the yogurt with the same spoon. He could see the tree tops swaying in the breeze and the clouds drifted by in lazy heaps. It looked like the rain was gone for a while.

Too bad it couldn’t have cleared up sooner. Then Keith wouldn’t have had to bother Shiro.

He finished his yogurt at the same time the coffee finished brewing, and the coffee was good. Keith had personally seen Shiro set off every smoke alarm in the house and so thoroughly ruin a cookie sheet that they couldn’t get it off the oven rack, and yet, he had somehow managed to make a near perfect cup of coffee.

Maybe he really was meant to run a café.

Keith got dressed and took his mug with him outside. Shiro had said the grounds were nice, and maybe if Keith looked around he could figure out what Shiro needed the most help with before he left.

He cut through the restaurant to get to the patio. All the tables had been cleared off to the side and stacked along with the chairs, and the wooden floor has recently been mopped. The varnish was peeling and chipped, probably too far gone to just leave as it was. The whole floor would need to be refinished.

The whole layout of the room was wrong for a café. There was no counter or area to set up a coffee bar, and the host stand was placed awkwardly in the way of the front door. Everything would need to be redone if Shiro wanted a café where people could come in and just sit and relax.

The windows though were perfect. They ran floor to ceiling in the front and along the side, opening up to the overgrown front yard and the patio, letting in sunlight and making the outside feel like it was part of the room.

Keith pushed open the sliding doors to the patio, taking a deep breath of fresh air. The rain had washed it clean, leaving everything feeling fresh and ready to start over.

He sat on the top step of the patio, knees drawn up and sipping at his coffee. Shiro had been right; it was beautiful here. Overgrown and in need of care, but the potential was there for something amazing. It wouldn’t be so bad helping Shiro clean everything up and get it ready.

But if he was here, Shiro might stop looking for someone better to help him.

Keith pushed himself off the step with enough force that he had to jump over the bottom two and his shoes landed in the gravel path with a crunch. Too restless to stay on the patio, he followed the path around the back of the building and found the remains of an herb garden.

He recognized the herbs, sage, mint, rosemary, parsley. His mom had kept a small herb garden near the kitchen door, and he would help her harvest from it.

Everything was being choked out by weeds though. The herbs were surviving, but they weren’t thriving. Keith crouched down and started pulling up the weeds around mint plants. He knew for sure what the plants looked like, so he wasn’t worried about accidentally pulling up the mint with it.

He was so focused on his work that he didn’t hear anything until there was a yowl behind him. He fell on his backside he was so startled.

There was a calico cat standing in the gravel path giving him a sour look.

“Shiro only mentioned two cats,” Keith frowned at her, “so who are you?”

He held his hand out for the cat to sniff, but she flattened her ears and hissed at him.

“Be that way,” Keith pulled his hand back, “I don’t care. Just don’t get in my way.”

He went back to pulling weeds. He finished the mint and moved onto the rosemary border that ran along the path. The path ran through the square garden, wrapping around a circular planter bed full or weeds in the middle and continuing out away from the building. The side of the path across from the rosemary was bordered with the scraggly remains of lavender, although most of it had been choked out by weeds.

Gravel shifted behind him, and Keith glanced over to see the calico sitting down staring at him, tail flicking in slow irritation. He huffed and went back to work.

The sun was warm on his back, and the soil was still damp from yesterday’s rain, but it had drained enough to not clump around his finger. It felt good to be using his hands, to have dirt under his nails. As the sun warmed the beds, he could smell the rosemary and mint. This was a good place to be; he knew exactly what needed to be done here, and he could do it.

There was more shifting, and Keith looked up to find the cat had moved closer before flopping on her side on the sun warmed gravel.

“Lazy,” he teased and went back to work before she could decide she didn’t want to be watched.

Keith worked his way steadily down the border. His hair started to stick to his face, and he wished he had pulled it back or brought a bandana, but he could manage. Garden gloves probably would have helped, too. He liked the feel of dirt on his hands, but some of the weeds were prickly. Maybe one of those long things with the fork at the end… what were they called? Weeders? Dandelion diggers? And a bucket…

Something touched him and he jumped. The calico cat meowed, startled away from where she had been sniffing Keith’s arm.

“Sorry,” he said softly, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

He held still, and she came back to sniff at him again, then rubbed along his back with a brief purr and went to lay in another patch of sunlight.

Keith smiled and started working on the path itself. From time to time, he would catch the calico lifting her head to watch him, as if to make sure he was still there and doing what he was suppost to.

It was nice company, actually. Quiet and undemanding. He could work with a clear goal in mind and no one to bother him, and the cat could be a cat.

“There you are.”

Keith had no idea how long he had been pulling weeds, but when he straightened to look up at Shiro, his back ached.

“And you found a friend,” Shiro grinned down at him.

The calico hissed and jumped to her feet, making sure they knew she didn’t approve of the uninvited company. She bound over one of the beds and disappeared into the tall grass.

“Sorry,” Shiro rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, “I didn’t mean to scare her.”

“She’ll be back, eventually,” Keith waved a hand absently, still staring in the direction the cat had gone.

“It’s past lunch time, and Allura is here,” Shiro offered him a hand, “come get washed up, and we’ll all go grab something to eat.”

Keith looked down at his hands, the dirt ground into the creases of his palms, the faint green tint on his fingertips, then back up at Shiro.

“I’ll stay and help you get everything fixed up,” he took the offered hand.

“Good,” Shiro pulled him up and into a side hug, “I need all the help I can get.”

Shiro kept his arm around Keith as they headed back to the building, but Keith stole a last glance over his shoulder and spotted the cat peeking out at them.

Today was a good day just to be, and maybe tomorrow would be too


End file.
